How to Deal With Bad Beats — Ask the 888poker Pros

888poker Bad Beat

If you haven't checked out the 888poker YouTube channel, then you're definitely missing out. Their latest video seeks to help you when your aces get beaten or you get sucked out on the river — how to keep your cool after a bad beat.

Understand You Won't Always Win

Vivian Saliba

"You won't always win," says Vivian Saliba. "In poker you will lose - aces you will lose, you will have huge chip leads heads-up and you will lose. You will have losing streaks and downswing.

"Being bothered by something that is expected doesn't make sense.


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Be Prepared For the Bad Beat

Ian Simpson

"You have to be prepared before the bad beat." That's the advice of Ian Simpson. "You have to accept that there are a lot of universes out there. If you take a bad beat this is just one of those universes! You got your money in good, usually it's going to go well. Plenty of the time it's not. It's just part of the game."

Use Mentality To Your Advantage

Jordan Banfield

"Every tournament I tell myself I'm going to be the short stack," says Jordan Banfield. "I just prepare that there's going to be times where there's going to be coolers and you're going to lose a bunch. By having the mentality [that I'm going to be the short stack] I can deal with that beat so much better"

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Without Bad Beats, You Wouldn't Be Profitable

Alexandre Mantovani

"If it weren't for bad beats, then you wouldn't be profitable," says Alexandre "Cavalito" Mantovani. "Because then players that aren't as experienced wouldn't be able to win and they wouldn't play right."

He agrees with his other ambassadors on expecting bad beats as part of playing poker.

"Accepting that bad beats are part of the game is the first step."

Keep Your Composure and Move On

Samantha Abernathy

"When you play more volume you get more used to bad beats, and you have to understand it's part of the game," says Sam Abernathy. "Just regain your composure, move on to the next hand and not dwell on it, even if it was a mistake. It's going to happen to the next guy as much as it happens to me."

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  • Five 888poker Ambassadors share their best advice on how to deal with bad beats

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